Uganda turning banana peels into poultry feed

Banana peels are part of the 1,500 tonnes garbage that is plaguing Kampala City in Uganda, but the Kasubi Parish Local Community Development Initiative and Kawaala Recycling and Manufacturing Development Group have started turning the peels into poultry feed for better use.

The idea of turning banana peels into banana bran was developed from the observation that chickens, pigs and cows ate the raw peels, said Moses Nadiope from the Initiative.

Over 70 percent of garbage in Kasubi, Kawaala, Nakulabye and neighbouring areas are banana peels, making the sourcing of the raw material for making the banana bran easy, he said.

This project is supported by NGOs, state agencies and the agriculture ministry. One of the NGOs, Environmental Alert, even bought a mill for the organisations to use for the processing of banana peel bran.

Maria Kawesa from the Environmental Alert said the banana peel bran is a good substitute to corn bran which is becoming very expensive for poultry farmers.

Microbiological tests conducted on banana peel bran found that the product has sufficient phosphorus, proteins, calcium and is free from heavy metals. Scientists observed that the bran is safe but they have to be properly dried on polythene sheets and kept in dry places to avoid dampness to avoid creating conditions for bacterial multiplication.

The banana bran is also cheaper, costing UGX250 per kg compared to corn bran which costs UGX350-UGX500 per kg, said Kawesa.

US$1 = UGX1,873.50 (Nov 26)